Tallahassee mayor Andrew Gillum, a far-left progressive, bested centrist former representative Gwen Graham in Florida’s Democratic gubernatorial primary on Tuesday night, a major upset victory for the Bernie Sanders wing of the party.

Gillum, who will take on Republican representative Ron DeSantis in November, was polling poorly throughout the race and was heavily outspent for its entirety, but nevertheless managed to harness surging progressive energy by embracing far-left populism primarily characterized by a commitment to Medicare-for-all and a $15-per-hour minimum wage.

Sanders aided Gillum’s rise to notoriety, attending a campaign event in Tampa, Fla., earlier this month that drew more than 1,000 supporters.

“No one person can take on the economic and political elites on their own,” Sanders said in a statement on Tuesday. “Tonight, Floridians joined Andrew in standing up and demanding change in their community. That’s what the political revolution is all about and Andrew Gillum is helping to lead it.”

Tom Steyer, the billionaire liberal activist intent on impeaching President Trump, also endorsed Gillum and, together with George Soros, helped him close the spending gap distancing him from his independently wealthy opponents. Soros and Steyer led a group that donated $650,000 to the PAC associated with Gillum’s campaign.

Gillum, who campaigned heavily on repealing Florida’s “stand your ground” law, also received substantial support from progressive groups such as Indivisible Action, The Collective PAC, The New Florida Vision PAC, and Our Revolution, a PAC formed by Sanders’s presidential-campaign veterans.

Gillum, 39, told supporters on Tuesday night that, should he best DeSantis in November, his top priority will be expanding Medicaid to the estimated 700,000 Floridians who would qualify under the Affordable Care Act.

“The point has never been lost on me that my name on the ballot is simply a vessel, is simply the name,” Gillum told the crowd gathered in Tallahassee, Fla., following his victory. “But what is underneath that name are all the issues that we care so deeply about.”

NOW WATCH: “Andrew Gillum Wins Stunning Florida Gov Primary”

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